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LITTLE  LAD  JAMIE 


BY 

MARY  D.  BRINE 

AUTHOR  OF  BONNY  BONIBEL,  LITTLE  NEW  NEIGHBOR,  DAN 
MY  LITTLE  MARGARET,  ETC.,  ETC. 


» 


NEW  YORK 
E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 

31  West  Twenty-third  Street 
1897 


Copyright,  1895, 
By  E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY. 


CONTEOTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

PAGE 

Jamie 1 

CHAPTER   II. 
The  "Good-by" 6 

CHAPTER  III. 
Jamie  at  the  Pond 12 

CHAPTER   IV. 
The  Surprise  for  Jamie 15 

CHAPTER  V. 
New  Friends 21 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Swing  Scare 27 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Wreck  and  the  Rescue 33 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Bonfire 40 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Waiting  for  Mama 47 


ill 


LITTLE    LAD   JAMIE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

JAMIE. 


Evekybody  loved  Jamie.  He  was  the  dearest,  sunniest  little 
laddie  yon  ever  saw.  Happy  little  round  face  just  full  of 
dimples,  and  bright  with  the  shine  of  his  happy  blue  eyes; 
"goldeny  hair" — as  mama  called  it — all  full  of  waving,  soft 
tangles  which  wouldn't  stay  brushed  into  order;  a  roly-poly 
little  form,  which,  to  please  him,  mama  dressed  in  pretty  "  sailor- 
suit"  style  (and  you  can't  guess  how  brave  and  manly  he  felt 
when  he  stepped  out  of  his  kilts  into  the  new  suits !) ;  and  the 
merriest,  heartiest,  most  musical  boy-laugh  that  ever  made 
grown  folks  laugh  too. 

Jamie  was  somewhere  between  five  and  six  years  old,  and 
although  a  real  little  man  in  ways  and  feelings,  yet  not  quite 
ready  to  give  up  the  habit  of  climbing  into  people's  laps  and 
snuggling  down  into  the  love-nest  of  caressing  arms.  He  had 
plenty  of  kisses  with  which  to  "pay  back"  the  kisses  he  re- 
ceived, and  when  he  was  naughty  he  had  the  sweetest  way  of 

being  sorry  for  it  that  can  be  imagined. 

i 


2  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

You  can  guess  very  easily,  after  this  description  of  Jamie, 
how  hard  it  must  have  been  for  mama  when  one  day  she 
found  that  she  would  have  to  take  a  short  journey  away 
from  home  and  her  dear  little  laddie,  whom  she  had  never  left 
before. 

Jamie  was  playing  being  captain  of  a  big  steamer  when  the 
maid  brought  a  letter  to  mama  on  that  morning ;  and  while  she 
read  it,  the  "  captain "  walked  up  and  down  the  deck  of  his 
steamer  (which  was  the  large  rug  in  the  center  of  the  polished 
floor),  and  shouted  all  kinds  of  orders  to  his  invisible  crew. 
Now  and  then  he  made  the  rug  slide  along  the  floor  by  pushing  it 
with  his  feet  after  an  original  style  of  his  own;  and  then  he 
played  there  was  a  great  storm  at  sea,  and  he  pretended  he 
could  hardly  keep  his  balance  while  walking  the  deck,  and  the 
orders  to  the  crew  were  shouted  faster  than  ever. 

Oh,  it  was  great  fun  for  Jamie,  and  he  was  just  thinking  that 
he  would  play  at  falling  overboard,  and  letting  mama  be  the 
captain  of  another  ship  and  pick  him  up,  when  he  saw  her  put 
her  hand  up  to  her  eyes  and  wipe  a  tear  away. 

Instantly  the  "  captain "  turned  into  a  very  small,  anxious 
boy;  and  before  you  could  have  counted  three,  Jamie  was  in 
his  mother's  lap,  pulling  her  hand  from  her  eyes,  and  kissing 
her  in  a  fast,  furious  sort  of  way  which  seemed  to  comfort  her 
greatly. 

"  What  you  doin'  it  for,  mama  ? "  he  asked. 

"  Doing  what,  Jamie  ? " 

"  Cryin'  in  your  eyes !  "  he  explained,  anxiously. 

She  laughed  and  hugged  him  closely  as  she  replied : 

"  Just  a  wee  little  tear,  darling,  because  this  letter  tells  me  I 


JAMIE.  d 

must  go  and  see  a  dear  old  friend  who  is  very  sick ;  and  be- 
cause, if  I  go,  I  shall  have  to  leave  my  little  laddie  behind  me; 
and  I  don't  want  to  do  it,  Jamie — not  one  bit." 

Jamie's  face  grew  sober  enough  then,  and  he  slipped  his 
arms  very  tightly  about  mama's  neck. 

"  Ain't  goin'  to  let  you !  "  he  whispered,  with  a  suspicion  of 
sobs  in  his  voice. 

Mama  pushed  the  soft  yellow  tangles  from  his  forehead,  and 
looked  into  the  sweet  blue  eyes  of  her  sturdy  little  son. 

"  Suppose  mama  were  sick,  and  wanted  a  friend  to  come 
and  see  her,  and  that  friend's  little  boy  said,  'No,  I  won't  let 
her  go ! ' — wouldn't  you  be  sorry  for  poor  mama  and  her  being 
disappointed  ? " 

Jamie 'shook  his  head  "yes." 

"  Well,  then,  think  how  sorry  my  friend  would  be  if  you 
didn't  let  me  go  and  see  her,"  said  mama. 

"Maybe  she  wouldn't  be,"  Jamie  said;  "maybe  she's  all  well 
now.  Maybe — may — maybe  " — the  little  voice  faltered,  and  the 
round  head  dropped  on  mama's  shoulder — "  maybe  she — she 
wants  to  see  your  little  boy  too  !  " 

Mama  smiled  to  herself,  and  rocked  back  and  forth  with  her 
boy  in  her  arms,  his  hands  still  clinging  about  her  neck  as  if  they 
never  meant  to  loosen. 

"  She's  too  sick  to  see  little  boys,  dear — even  so  dear  and 
good  and  kind-hearted  a  little  boy  as  my  laddie.  But  she'll  be 
very  glad — you  can't  think  how  glad,  Jamie — when  she  knows 
my  little  boy  was  helpful  and  brave,  and  willing  to  spare  mama 
for  a  day  or  two,  and  that  he  didn't  even  cry  one  little  tear  be- 
cause I  had  to  leave  him." 


4  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

Jamie  pushed  his  head  deeper  down  on  the  mother-heart 
where  he  was  hiding  his  tearful  eyes. 

Mama  waited  a  moment,  and  as  there  was  no  reply  from 
Jamie,  she  continued : 

"  And  I  am  sure  that  if  J  can  go  and  leave  my  boy  of  boys 
for  a  while,  and  not  cry  for  him,  because  I  know  he'd  be  sorry 
he  made  poor  mama  cry,  why,  my  boy  of  boys  can  be  as  brave 
as  I,  and  not  make  me  sorry  because  he  cries.  Oh  yes,  I'm  quite 
sure  of  that." 

Jamie's  head  lifted  itself,  and  the  blue  eyes  were  winking 
tears  away  very  rapidly  for  an  instant ;  then : 

"If  I  didn't  love  my  mama  I  wouldn't  cry,  'cause  I — I 
wouldn't  care ;  but  if  I  care — I've  jus'  got  to  cry,  'cause  the  cry- 
f eelin'  keeps  comin'  in  me,  an' — an' —  " 

"Well,  it  was  no  use  struggling  any  longer ;  those  tears  were 
bound  to  come,  and  come  they  did;  and  mama  didn't  try  to 
stop  them,  because  she  remembered  that  her  wee  laddie,  after 
all,  never  cried  unless  there  was  something  really  worth  crying 
for ;  and  she  didn't  blame  him  for  his  tears  on  this,  to  him,  very 
trying  occasion. 

By  and  by  Jamie  felt  better ;  and  then  he  sat  up  in  mama's 
lap,  and  wiped  the  very  last  tear  away  from  the  blue  eyes,  and 
smiled  very  bravely  as  he  said : 

"  Now  I'm  done  cryin',  mama,  an'  I'm  goin'  to  be  kind  to  the 
sick  lady,  an'  'low  you  to  go  an'  make  her  feel  happy ;  but  I  tell 
you  what,  it's — it's  hard  work  to  be  good  'bout  it !  " 

Oh,  what  a  shower  of  kisses  came  raining  down  from  the 
dear  mother-lips  on  Jamie's  face  then ! — kisses  on  his  blue  eyes, 
his  white  forehead  and  soft  pink  cheeks,  and  on  his  two  rosy 


JAMIE.  5 

lips,  which  were  u  kissing  back "  with  might  and  main.  Then 
the  little  laddie  turned  into  a  bold  sailor-captain  once  more,  and 
the  rug  steamer  proceeded  on  its  voyage  over  the  polished  floor. 
Meanwhile  mama  made  arrangements  for  Jamie  to  stay  with 
grandma,  in  grandma's  pretty  country  home  not  far  away,  where 
she  knew  her  laddie  would  be  a  most  welcome  little  visitor  dur- 
ing her  absence.  To  be  sure,  grandma  always  spoiled  him,  and 
grandpa  too,  whenever  he  went  there;  but  the  spoiling  never 
seemed  to  injure  Jamie  in  any  way,  and  he  never  took  advan- 
tage of  it,  you  see,  as  some  little  folks  are  apt  to.  Grandpa 
was  off  on  a  long  journey  now,  so  that  Jamie  would  be  good 
company  to  grandma,  and  the  "man  of  the  house,"  as  mama 
explained;  and  Jamie  straightened  himself  up  proudly  as  he 
thought  about  it.  Jamie's  papa  was  not  living,  and  it  was  the 
one  great  sorrow  of  his  sunny  little  heart  that  he  could  not 
reach  beyond  the  clouds  and  kiss  that  dear  papa  good-morning 
and  good-night,  as  he  used  to  do  only  a  year  or  two  before  my 
story  begins.  But  he  never  got  up  in  the  morning  without  going- 
straight  to  the  window;  and  looking  up  to  the  sky,  he  would 
throw  a  kiss  from  his  little  lips,  and  whisper,  "  Good-mornin', 
my  own  dear  papa  ur>  in  heaven  !  "  And  before  he  got  into  his 
wee  bed  each  night  it  was  just  the  same:  the  soft  kiss  was 
wafted  upward,  and  "Good-night,  dear  papa!"  softly  follows  I 
it.  Mama's  eyes  were  apt  to  be  full  of  tears  at  these  especial 
times,  but  she  never  let  her  laddie  know  it — oh  no  indeed !  All 
he  knew  was  that  he  had  closer  "  hugs  "  and  gentler  kisses  from 
his  precious  mother  just  on  those  occasions  than  during  other 
hours  of  the  day,  even  though  her  caresses  were  always  many 
and  sweet. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE  "GOOD-BY." 

Well,  the  day  came  when  the  parting  was  to  take  place. 
Mania  took  her  little  son  to  gi*andma's  house,  and  after  saying 
good-by  in  her  own  fond  way,  was  driven  off  to  the  depot 
again.  Jamie  stood  soberly  at  the  window,  watching  as  long  as 
he  could  see  the  carriage,  and  feeling  a  dreadful  weight  on  his 
little  heart  as  the  wheels  carried  his  dear  one  farther  and 
farther  away. 

He  couldn't  remember  when  mama  had  left  him  before.  He 
didn't  feel  comfortable  at  all  in  his  heart  or  in  his  mind.  He 
loved  grandma  dearly,  but  she  wasn't  precious  like  mama,  he 
thought ;  and  there  seemed  to  be  a  great  empty  space  some- 
where and  somehow  all  about  him.  He  couldn't  see  the  space, 
but  he  felt  it — oh,  he  felt  it  terribly — a*id  he  almost  wished 
he  had  "  cried  a  little  harder  an'  longer,  an'  not  tried  to  be  so 
good  'bout  it,  an'  then  maybe  mama  wouldn't  have  gone  away. 
Oh-o-o-o  dear !  how  queer  an'  uncomfor'ble  he  did  feel !  " 

Grandma  came  into  the  room  and  put  her  arms  around  him 
presently. 

"  Cheer  up,  darling ;  it's  only  for  a  few  days,  you  know,  and 
you  and  I  must  cheer  each  other  up,  you  see,  because  I  miss 
grandpa,  and  you  miss  mama — two  big  misses  together.     And 

6 


THE  "GOOD-BY."  7 

oli  dear  me !  if  I  didn't  have  you,  Jamie,  to  be  a  man  in  the  house, 
how  lonely  I  should  be  !  " 

Jamie  stood  up  straight  and  tall,  and  his  white  sailor-suit 
looked  very  brave,  even  if  its  owner's  face  did  not. 

"  'Scuse  me,  gran'ma,"  he  said,  politely ;  "  I  jus'  forgot  for  a 
teenty  minute  that  I  promised  mama  I'd  smile  an'  smile,  an* 
cheer  you  up  all  I  could.  I  jus'  was  feelin'  so  low  down  in  my 
heart,  you  know,  an'  I  'most  had  tears !  " 

"  You  darling !  "  replied  grandma,  "  as  if  you  hadn't  a  perfect 
right  to  grieve  and  be  lonely,  you  precious  little  laddie !  Well, 
when  the  sun  comes  out  in  my  boy's  heart  by  and  by,  will  he 
come  and  put  a  little  of  it  in  old  grandma's  heart  too  ? " 

Jamie  nodded  eagerly. 

"  Oh  yes  indeed,  gran'ma !  You  jus'  wait,  an'  you'll  see  I'll 
be  along  soon;  I'm  goin'  to  forget  all  the  lonely  feelin's,  yoiCll 
see !     I'm  the  greatest  fellow  for  forgettin'  you  ever  saw !  " 

With  a  twinkle  in  her  eyes  grandma  left  the  room,  and  Jamie 
stood  quietly  there  by  the  window,  fighting  a  small  battle  all  by 
himself,  and  gaining  the  victory,  too,  over  every  big  tear  that 
persisted  in  coming  from  his  heart  to  his  eyes. 

While  grandma  sat  at  her  sewing  a  little  later,  she  heard 
quick  steps  coming  along  the  hall;  and  before  she  could  say 
"Jack  Robinson"  two  small  arms  were  about  her  neck,  and  a 
tight  hug  nearly  took  her  breath  away. 

"Hello,  gran'ma! "  exclaimed  a  little  voice  in  her  ear;  "find 
my  tears  if  you  can !  I  haven't  got  another  single  one  in  me, 
an'  I'm  drefne  glad !  " 

Grandma  looked  surprised. 

"  Why,  that's  really  so,  laddie ;  I  don't  see  even  the  trace  of 


8  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

one" — examining  the  blue,  serious  eyes  with  great  gravity. 
"  How  did  you  get  rid  of  them  so  quickly  ? " 

Jamie  drew  a  deep  breath. 

"  Smiled  'em  away,  I  guess,"  he  replied.  "  O  gran'ma,  let  me 
tell  you,  so  you  can  try  it  when  you're  cryin'  for  gran'pa :  there 
never  was  such  a  nice  way  to  get  rid  of  cry-tears  as  jus'  to 
smile  an'  smile  a»'  keep  on  smilin'  till  you  forget — well,  rmost 
forget — what  you  were  cryin'  'bout;  an'  then,  firs'  thing  you 
know,  you  don't  have  any  tears  left,  an'  you  feel  jus'  as  good  an' 
comfor'ble  as  can  be." 

"  Why,  that's  splendid  advice,  my  little  man,"  said  grandma ; 
"  I  shall  be  sure  to  take  it,  of  course.  Now  get  your  little  coat 
and  let  us  take  a  walk  to  the  village." 

You  ought  to  have  seen  Jamie's  eyes  sparkle  then !  When 
he  and  mama  had  visited  grandma  last  there  had  been  a  walk  to 
the  village — not  only  once,  but  several  times ;  and  grandma  had 
always  found  something  in  the  big  store  there  which  was  pre- 
sented to  Jamie  as  a  token  of  her  love  for  him.  He  never  hinted 
for  gifts — no  indeed !  But  he  wouldn't  have  been  much  like 
real  little  boys — would  he  ? — if  he  hadn't  been  glad  for  grandma's 
presents. 

So  no  wonder  he  got  inside  of  the  little  coat  quickly,  and 
covered  his  sunny  head  with  the  pretty  Scotch  cap,  and  was 
ready  in  a  jiffy  on  this  occasion.  It  was  a  beautiful  spring  day, 
and  the  sunbeams  were  just  as  lively  and. thick  as  they  could  be. 
They  got  into  Jamie's  eyes  (maybe  they  thought  they  had  found 
a  piece  of  sky  there),  and  they  were  breathed  into  his  little  heart 
with  every  sweet  breath  of  air,  and  they  frolicked  about  every 
step  he  took. 


THE  "GOOD-BY."  y 

Grandma  thought,  as  she  looked  at  him,  that  there  wasn't 
another  grandmother  in  the  world  who  had  such  a  pretty, 
sturdy,  lovable  little  sailor-hoy  for  a  grandson  as  she  had.  She 
kept  saying,  "  Bless  him  !  bless  him  !  "  in  her  heart  as  he  trudged 
along  beside  her;  and  I  firmly  believe  everything  was  blessing 
him,  because  he  tried  so  hard  to  be  a  good  boy,  and  because  he 
loved  everybody  and  everything  his  "dear  kind  Jesus"  sent  in 
his  way.     (I  have  quoted  Jamie's  own  expression  there.) 

Well,  the  village  was  reached,  and  the  store  was  close  at  hand. 

"  What  are  we  going  to  the  store  for,  laddie — do  you  know!" 
asked  grandma,  laughingly. 

"  If  you  want  me  to  tell  honest,  I  can,"  replied  he,  with  a 
merry  twinkle  in  his  eyes  as  his  gaze  met  hers ;  "  but  if  you 
want  to  play  guess,  I'll  say — let's  see — I'll  say  we're  goin'  to  buy 
somethin'  to  'muse  gran'pa  with  when  he  comes  home." 

"  Guess  '  honest,'  then,"  said  grandma,  pulling  his  ear  play- 
fully. 

The  blue  eyes  sparkled  more  than  ever,  and  with  a  little 
squeeze  of  grandma's  hand  in  advance  gratitude,  Jamie  whis- 
pered : 

"  We're  goin'  'cause  you  love  laddie,  an'  you're  goin'  to  show 
it  the  way  you  always  do,  you  darlin'  gran'ma !  " 

Well,  when  they  entered  the  store  it  did  seem  to  Jamie  as 
though  a  whole  world  of  toys  had  been  emptied  right  there — all 
sorts  and  kinds,  and  at  all  prices,  too,  and  every  one  of  them 
just  what  a  boy  or  girl  would  seem  to  want  most. 

But  the  thing  which  caught  Jamie's  gaze  first,  and  held  it 
longest,  was  a  fine  big  ship,  with  flowing  white  sail  and  spars, 
and  a  beautiful  deck  for  promenading,  too. 


10  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

Grandma  was  watching  her  boy,  and  she  smiled  to  see  how 
eagerly  he  looked  at  the  ship,  as  if  there  were  not  another  thing 
in  the  store  worth  looking  at. 

But  of  course  he  didn't  say  so — he  was  too  well  bred  a  boy  to 
be  hinting  about  what  he  would  like  when  he  was  going  to  have 
a  present;  so  when  presently  grandma  asked,  "Well,  laddie, 
what  shall  I  choose  for  you  f "  he  replied,  "  Anything  you  like, 
gran'ma ;  I'll  be  sure  to  like  it." 

"Very  well;  we'll  look  around  and  see  what  there  is,"  said 
grandma. 

And  Jamie  did  so,  although  his  eyes  kept  turning,  in  spite 
of  him,  in  the  direction  of  that  beautiful  ship ;  and  presently  he 
saw  the  salesman  lift  it  from  the  shelf  and  wrap  it  up  carefully 
for  some  purchaser.  A  tiny  feeling  of  disappointment  crept 
into  Jamie's  heart ;  but  he  felt  glad  for  the  little  unknown  boy 
who  was  going  to  have  it,  and  he  went  over,  to  grandma — who 
was  looking  at  some  magazines — and  pulling  her  down  so  that 
his  lips  would  reach  her  ear,  he  whispered : 

"  Say,  gran'ma,  there's  goin'  to  be  a  dreffle  lucky  little  boy 
in  this  village  to-day  somewhere,  'cause  somebody's  been  buyin' 
him  that  splendid  ship  that  was  over  there.  I  saw  it  when  we 
came  in,  an'  oh,  it  was  the  splendidest  ship  you  ever  saw !  I 
wonder  whether  the  little  boy'll  like  playin'  '  captain '  as  I  do ! " 

Grandma  smiled. 

"  Oh  yes,  I'm  sure  he  will,"  said  she.  "  He's  right  here  in  this 
store ;  and  as  I  know  him  I'll  introduce  you  to  him,  and  you 
can  ask  him  all  about  it.  Maybe  he'll  let  you  play  with  his  ship 
sometimes,  if  you  ask  him." 

Jamie  looked  delighted. 


THE  "gOOD-BY."  11 

"  Oh,  I'll  ask  him  fast  'nough,  grandma ! "  he  said.  "  Where 
is  he?" 

Grandma  drew  him  to  one  side  of  the  store,  and  paused  be- 
fore a  long  mirror. 

"Now  look  and  see  what  a  fine  boy  he  is;  and  the  very 
image  of  my  little  laddie,  too,"  she  said,  laughing  at  Jamie's 
face  as  he  realized  that  grandma  had  been  playing  a  merry  trick 
on  him. 

"  Oh,  oh,  oh !  gran'ma !  I'm  the  boy  who's  got  it ! "  he  ex- 
claimed, turning  and  throwing  his  arms  about  her  waist,  and 
speaking  so  excitedly  that  the  people  in  the  store  turned  around 
to  watch  him. 

Then  he  blushed  way  up  to  the  soft  tangle  of  his  golden 
"  bang  "  (if  one  must  give  that  horrid  name  to  the  pretty  cluster 
of  hair  falling  over  a  little  white  forehead),  and  hid  his  face  on 
grandma's  arm. 

How  he  ever  got  home  with  his  large  package,  neither  he  nor 
grandma  could  rightly  tell;  for  it  did  seem  as  though  his  small 
feet  were  treading  only  on  air,  and  he  had  to  stop  every  few 
moments  to  make  sure  that  it  was  really  a  ship  which  was 
wrapped  up  so  carefully,  and  not  only  a  lovely  dream  after  all. 


CHAPTER  III. 

JAMIE  AT  THE  POND. 

Not  far  from  grandma's  house  there  was  a  pretty  little  pond, 
and  you  reached  it  by  following  a  path  through  the  garden  be- 
hind the  house.  It  was  a  shady,  pleasant  path,  and  grandma 
often  walked  there  with  Jamie.  The  pond  wasn't  very  deep, 
and  she  knew,  besides,  that  if  the  little  boy  promised  to  be  very 
careful  and  not  lean  over  the  water  so  that  there  was  danger  of 
his  falling  in,  he  could  be  safely  trusted  to  keep  his  word. 

So  she  allowed  him  to  take  his  ship  there  as  soon  as  possible 
after  it  came  into  his  proud  possession;  and  you  can  imagine 
what  a  delight  it  was  to  Jamie  the  first  time  he  set  the  "  Lady 
Grace  "  afloat.  (He  had  named  her  after  mama,  I  ought  to  ex- 
plain, and  grandma  took  care  to  mention  the  compliment  in  her 
next  letter  to  mama.) 

"  Captain  Jamie "  was  very  proud  of  his  ship,  you  may  be 
sure ;  and  the  gardener  fastened  a  long  string  to  its  prow,  so 
that  when  the  wind  filled  the  sails  and  it  went  bravely  sailing 
on  its  voyage  beyond  the  shore,  Jamie  could  pull  it  into  port 
whenever  and  wherever  he  pleased. 

Sometimes  the  little  craft  was  laden  with  leaves ;  and  it  was 

fine  sport  when  the  breezes  would  sweep  the  deck  quite  clear  of 

its  freight  before  the  journey  was  half  over.     Sometimes,  too, 

12 


JAMIE  AT  THE  POND.  13 

Jamie  would  decide  to  ship  a  cargo  of  lumber ;  and  the  amount 
of  twigs  and  chips  the  little  vessel  could  carry  filled  the  "cap- 
tain's" soul  with  pride. 

"'Tisn't  clear  weather  all  the  time,"  said  Jamie,  one  day, 
after  he  had  delivered  several  cargoes  safely  in  port.  "  There 
ought  to  be  some  storms  now  'n'  then,  same  as  real  ships  have 
to  go  through." 

So  he  loaded  his  ship  with  a  fresh  cargo,  and  when  it  was 
well  offshore  he  vigorously  jerked  the  string  which  his  little 
hand  grasped  so  firmly,  and  presently  the  "  ocean  "  was  strewn 
with  bits  of  wreck,  and  the  ship  was  rocking  and  plunging 
violently. 

That  so  delighted  the  "  captain  "  that  he  decided  to  have  a  reg- 
ular wrecking  season;  and  remembering  a  small  rubber  boy 
which  grandma  had  found  for  him  among  some  battered  toys 
stored  in  her  garret,  he  seized  the  first  opportunity  possible  to 
bring  about  a  thrilling  scene  of  shipwreck,  in  which,  also,  a  life- 
saving  station  should  figure. 

So  Mr.  Doll  was  seated  comfortably  leaning  against  the 
mast,  with  no  suspicion  of  danger  to  come.  After  an  affection- 
ate farewell  from  Jamie,  the  ship  was  loosed  from  its  moorings, 
and  away  it  went  over  a  smooth  sea  and  under  a  soft  blue  sky. 

But  oh,  it  was  a  terrible  shipwreck  which  followed  ere  long ! 
A  few  jerks  of  the  long  string  in  Jamie's  hand,  and  presently 
the  passenger  was  tossed  overboard,  and  was,  of  course,  in  great 
danger  of  drowning. 

The  brave  "captain"  on  shore — now  become  the  commander 
of  a  life-saving  station,  you  understand — ran  wildly  to  and  fro, 
shouting  orders  to  his  imaginary  men  and  words  of  encourage- 


14  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

ment  to  the  drowning  passenger,  until  at  last  the  mimic  waves 
bore  the  rubber  victim  safely  to  the  shore,  and  Jamie's  rescuing 
hand  was  ready  to  do  the  rest. 

Oh,  it  was  "  grand  good  fun  " — so  Jamie  told  grandma  when 
he  returned  to  the  house,  and  had  tucked  the  rescued  passenger 
safely  away  to  recover  strength  for  the  next  perilous  voyage. 
"  It  was  grand  good  fun ;  but  he  was  dreffle  glad  it  wasn't  a  real 
live  passenger  bein'  dumped  into  a  real  ocean." 

"Try  the  kitten,  Master  Jamie,"  suggested  the  gardener, 
laughingly. 

Jamie  was  indignant,  and  straightened  his  little  figure  as  he 
answered : 

"Do  you  think  I'd  be  such  a  cruel  boy  as  to  tease  a  kitty 
like  that  ?  Kitties  have  f eelin's  same's  we  have,  an'  my  dearest 
mama  never  'lows  me  to  tease  any  kind  of  a — alemile ;  an'  I'm 
s'prised  at  you,  Tom !  " 

"  Right  you  are,  little  master !  "  said  Tom,  humbly.  "  I  was 
only  teasin'  you  a  bit;  it's  not  Tom  McCarty  would  tease  an 
animal,  either — trust  him  for  that,  laddie." 


o  ab'iovi  una  ue  gumi  <uii  oj  e/i-ju^ 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  SURPRISE  FOR  JAMIE. 

One  day  grandma  and  Tom  held  a  whispered  conversation 
together ;  and  Jamie,  seeing  a  twinkle  in  Tom's  eyes  as  the  man 
turned  and  glanced  at  him,  felt  sure  that  the  conversation  con- 
cerned him.  But  he  was  writing  a  letter  to  mama,  and  so  he 
didn't  stop  to  ask  any  questions,  though  a  happy  little  thrill  of 
curiosity  began  to  stir  his  heart. 

The  letter  to  mama  was  slow  work,  because  Jamie's  penman- 
ship had  not  yet  gone  beyond  printing,  and  his  A's  some- 
times got  upside  down  like  V's ;  but  he  did  succeed  in  printing, 
very  fairly,  two  whole  lines  which  told  the  dear  mother  that  he 
loved  her  and  was  being  a  good  boy. 

After  grandma  had  pronounced  the  effort  satisfactory,  and 
he  had  watched  her  inclose  it  in  a  letter  she  had  herself  written 
to  mama,  Jamie  ran  out  for  a  frolic  in  the  garden. 

What  did  he  see  there  in  the  arbor-shaded  path  which 
brought  a  laugh  to  his  eyes  and  lips,  and  made  him  scamper 
like  a  young  colt  in  that  direction  ?  What  should  it  be  but  a 
strong,  fine  swing,  hanging  from  secure  fastenings,  and  swaying 
gently  back  and  forth  in  the  merry  wind  !  The  broad  seat  was 
hollowed  out  a  trifle,  so  that  the  little  boy  could  not  slip  from 
it,  no  matter  how  high  the  swing  might  carry  him.  Just  where 
his  little  hands  would  have  to  grasp  the  rope,  the  rough,  strong 

15 


16  LITTLE  LAD   JAMIE. 

strands  were  padded  with  soft  kid ;  and  that  kid  "  padding  "  had 
been  ingeniously  arranged  to  slide  up  and  down  the  rope,  so 
that  if  Jamie  wished  to  stand  in  his  swing,  the  soft  kid  would 
go  as  high  as  his  hands  were  obliged  to.  Old  Tom  had  also  re- 
membered that  little  feet  were  often  apt  to  slip  up  when  stand- 
ing on  the  seat  of  a  moving  swing,  and  away  would  go  the  seat, 
and  down  would  go  the  swinger,  unless  the  poor  little  hands 
grasped  the  ropes  very  tightly;  so  on  either  side  of  the 
hollowed  seat  Tom  had  fastened  securely  a  strap  under  which 
Jamie's  wee  feet  might  push  themselves,  and  all  danger  of  a 
slip-up  thus  be  avoided. 

You  will  see  that  this  was  a  very  unusual  kind  of  swing  over 
which  grandma  and  Tom  had  consulted,  and  which  had  been 
prepared  (all  ready  for  putting  up)  the  evening  before,  after 
Jamie  and  the  chickens  were  fast  asleep. 

No  wonder  the  little  laddie  ran  with  a  shout  of  glee  and 
clambered  into  position,  and  gave  himself  a  shove  with  the  toes 
of  his  shoes,  and  another,  and  still  another,  until  he  began  to 
skim  over  the  ground  pretty  fast- 
He  and  grandma  had  been  looking  at  some  pictures  the  day 
before,  and  among  the  pictures  was  one  representing  an  air-ship. 
Jamie  had  been  intensely  interested  in  it,  and  had  decided  in  his 
secret  heart  to  have  one  as  soon  as  he  became  a  man.  Now,  as 
he  was  swinging  away,  his  quick-witted  little  brain  turned  the 
swing  into  an  "air-ship,"  and  presently  grandma  heard  him 
singing  at  the  top  of  his  voice : 

"  Oh  ho  !  oh  ho  ! 
I'm  in  my  air-ship  !  here  I  go  ! 
Now  I'm  high,  an'  now  I'm  low ! 
Oh  ho  !  ho  !  ho  !  ho  !  " 


THE   SURPRISE   FOR  JAMIE.  17 

I  don't  know  which  tickled  grandma  most,  Jamie's  clever 
little  rhyme  (oh,  he  was  a  smart  laddie),  or  his  appreciation  of  her 
new  gift  to  him — the  swing.  She  peered  at  him  through  the 
bushes  she  and  Tom  were  busily  pruning,  and  saw  his  happy 
little  face,  wrinkled  all  over  from  chin  to  forehead  with  his 
laughter,  and  listened  with  the  most  loving  and  partial  ears  in 
the  world  to  his  song,  as  she  thought,  in  her  heart,  "  Bless  my 
laddie-boy ! " 

Pretty  soon  Jamie  saw  her  with  his  sharp  little  eyes,  and  he 
called  out : 

"  Gran'ma !  gran'ma !  come  an'  see  me  'n'  my  air-ship  !  " 

"  Coming,  deary,"  was  the  reply. 

And  high  and  higher  went  the  swing,  until  finally  two  small 
feet  were  so  very  close  to  the  leaves  above  that  grandma  grew 
quite  nervous  for  her  boy's  safety. 

"  Gran'ma,  gran'ma,  look  at  me  ! 
I'm  most  a  birdie  in  a  tree  ! " 

sang  Jamie,  merrily;  and  grandma  pulled  her  wits  together  to 
see  if  she  could  equal  Jamie  in  rhyming,  and  sang  back  again : 

"Laddie,  do  not  swing  so  high  ! 
You'll  break  your  nosy  by  and  by  ! " 

That  made  Jamie  laugh  harder  than  ever;  and  yet,  because 
he  saw  a  little  real  worry  in  dear  grandma's  face  (she  couldn't 
help  it,  you  know),  he  decided  to  "let  the  cat  die,"  and  ceased  to 
work  his  small  body  backward  and  forward. 

So  the  swing  came  to  a  standstill  at  last;  and  then,  although 
Jamie  was  sorely  tempted  to  try  the  standing  position,  yet  he  de- 


18  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

cided  to  wait  till  next  time — "'cause  gran'ma  was  so  scared 
'bout  him." 

"  You're  a  very  kind  gran'ma  to  little  boys,"  he  said,  gravely, 
running  to  her  presently,  and  snuggling  into  her  arms.  "  You're 
so  kind  to  me  that  I  love  you  nex'  bes'  to  my  beau'ful  mama ! " 
He  lifted  his  moist  little  lips  to  hers,  and  patted  her  cheek  with 
his  hand. 

"  Now  I  must  go  'n'  find  Tom,"  he  continued,  "  'cause  I  'most 
know  he  helped  you  fix  my  air-ship  swing." 

He  found  Tom  working  away  in  the  garden. 

"  I  like  you  very  much,  Tom,"  said  he.  "  I  like  my  swing, 
too;  it's  a  beau'ful  swing,  an'  you're  a  very  nice  man  to  help 
gran'ma  fix  it.  I  guess  you  like  little  boys  a  great  deal,  Tom, 
don't  you ! " 

"You're  right  there,  master  laddie;  I  like  little  boys  when 
they're  good  uns ;  an'  if  you  ain't  a  good  un  then  I  never  rightly 
saw  un  !  "  replied  Tom,  hoeing  away  busily. 

Jamie  stood  still  right  there  in  the  path.  His  face  was 
rather  grave,  for  he  felt  that  he  wasn't  quite  so  good  as  Tom 
thought  he  was.  He  remembered  many  times  when  he  had 
been  very  naughty,  and  mama  had  had  to  scold  him  hard  for 
it,  too.  Once  he  had  put  a  little,  "  teenty  "  china  dolly  right  in  the 
middle  of  some  dough  mama's  cook  had  mixed  for  baking.  Oh,  he 
remembered  it  very  well,  because  it  only  happened  in  the  winter 
before.  Cook  had  been  cross,  and  Jamie  didn't  like  the  way  she 
had  put  him  out  of  the  kitchen ;  and  when  her  back  had  been 
turned  for  a  few  moments,  he  pushed  the  dolly  deep  down  till 
the  dough  hid  it  quite  out  of  sight,  and  then  he  smoothed  the 
top  all  over  nicely  again ;  and  with  great  glee  in  his  heart  away 


THE    SURPRISE   FOR   JAMIE.  19 

he  went,  as  though  the  thought  of  being  naughty  had  never  en- 
tered his  mischievous  head.  Bat  when  that  loaf  of  bread  had 
been  baked,  and  was  soon  after  cut  for  the  table,  you  can  ima- 
gine without  my  telling  it  how  naughty  Jamie  found  his  little 
trick  was  received,  both  by  cook  and  his  mama.  They  could  not 
help  laughing,  to  be  sure,  when  the  china  dolly  tumbled  out  of 
the  loaf  in  the  most  unexpected  way ;  but  you  may  be  sure  that 
Jamie  was  not  present  while  the  laughing  was  going  on — no  in- 
deed !  All  lie  knew  about  the  discovery  of  his  revenge  upon 
poor  cook  was  a  rather  painful  knowledge ;  and  he  remembered 
the  punishment  quite  vividly  even  now. 

And  yet  I  think  the  little  boy  felt  worse  at  having  grieved 
mama  so,  and  because  he  had  given  cook  so  much  trouble,  than 
he  did  for  being  punished;  and  he  was  sorry  in  his  own  sweet, 
lovable  way,  as  usual,  so  that  he  was  very  soon  forgiven  for  his 
fault. 

Well,  as  he  stood  there  in  the  garden  listening  to  the  old  gar- 
dener's kind  praise  of  him,  he  wondered  whether  he  ought  not 
to  confess  all  those  naughty  things  his  conscience  brought  up 
to  him,  even  though  it  would  make  Tom  say,  "Why,  Master 
Jamie,  I'm  surprised  at  you !  I  thought  you  were  a  good  boy, 
and  I  find  you're  only  a  bad  un !  Oh,  fie  on  you !  fie  on  you, 
laddie ! " 

His  little  face  was  so  serious  thinking  of  all  this  that  Tom 
burst  out  laughing,  and  asked  what  was  the  trouble. 

"  Oh,  I  was  only  jus'  tkinkin'  that  I  guessed  if  you  knew  how 
dreffly  naughty  I  sometimes  am — you — you  wouldn't  say  such 
nice  things  to  me,  Tom." 

"  Pooh,  pooh,  laddie !  a  mite  of  a  boy  like  you !     Your  little 


20  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

naughtinesses  ain't  countin'  much  agen  ye,  I  reckon.  Come, 
how'd  the  swing  go,  eh  ? " 

"  Tiptop  !  "  shouted  the  little  lad,  merry  again  on  the  instant. 
"  An'  I  thank  you,  Tom,  same's  I  thanked  gran'ma,  for  bein'  so 
kind  to  me.     Mama'll  thank  you  too ;  you  see  if  she  doesn't !  " 

"  "We'll  thank  mama  for  lettin'  us  have  her  boy  for  these  few 
days,"  said  Tom.    "  It's  mighty  cheerin'  to  us  old  folks,  you  see." 

Then  Jamie  returned  to  his  swing,  and  enjoyed  it  until  he 
was  called  in  to  be  made  neat  and  dainty  for  the  luncheon-table. 


CHAPTEE  V 


NEW   FRIENDS. 


The  next  day  was  rather  chilly,  and  the  sun  was  lazy  about 
shining  out  as  clearly  as  usual,  although  it  ought  to  have  been 
warming  up  the  buds  and  blossoms,  and  remembering  that  the 
springtime  had  plenty  of  work  for  it  to  do. 

Grandma  was  writing  a  long  letter  to  grandpa,  and  you  may 
be  sure  she  was  telling  all  about  Jamie,  and  what  a  comfort  he 
was  to  her.  There  had  come  a  letter  from  mama  for  grandma, 
and  Jamie  too,  that  morning,  and  the  dear  little  boy  was  so 
happy  over  the  big  round  kisses  which  had  been  tucked  in  on  a 
half-sheet  of  paper  for  him  that  he  had  asked  grandma  to  let 
him  send  the  same  kind  of  kisses  to  his  mother  from  himself. 

So  she  found  a  sheet  of  paper,  and  on  one  half  he  drew  the 
largest  round  O's  he  could  make,  and  touched  his  sweet,  rosy 
lips  to  each  one;  on  the  other  half  of  the  paper  he  printed,  in 
good-sized  letters,  a  line  which  told  his  mama  that  he  loved  her 
lots  and  lots,  and  was  being  a  good  boy,  and  loved  grandma  too. 

His  style  of  printing  was  rather  uneven,  and  ran  considera- 
bly up  and  down  hill,  and  his  capitals  were  generally  put  in  the 
wrong  place,  and  all  that  kind  of  thing.  But  how  do  you  sup- 
pose this  little  boy  had  learned  to  print  even  as  well  as  that? 

21 


22  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

We  thought  it  was  very  clever  of  him  to  show  a  desire  to  learn, 
and  to  persevere  until  he  actually  could  print  a  little  sentence 
legibly.  He  had  a  box  of  alphabet-blocks,  and  some  picture- 
books  with  large  and  small  letters  in  very  black  type.  Mama 
taught  him  his  a-b-c's  in  the  capital  letters,  and  after  that  he 
had  lessons  each  day  on  the  small  letters;  though,  to  tell  the 
truth,  he  found  the  large  ones  much  easier.  Well,  one  day  he 
was  found  sitting  quietly  in  a  corner  of  the  room  tracing  the 
large  letters  from  his  picture- book  upon  a  thin  piece  of  paper  he 
had  laid  over  the  page  of  the  book. 

Mama  watched  him  as  she  sat  sewing  by  the  window,  and 
she  saw  him,  after  he  had  traced  the  letters  through,  try  to 
make  them  without  tracing ;  and  the  bright  eyes  were  so  clever 
that  they  soon  remembered  how  to  copy  and  form  the  whole  of 
each  letter,  until  at  last  he  came  running  to  mania's  side  and 
triumphantly  showed  his  letters  from  A  to  Gr. 

Of  course  she  showed  great  surprise  and  delight,  as  though 
it  were  all  new  to  her,  and  that  pleased  Jamie  very  much;  for 
you  see  the  little  laddie  had  planned  it  all  as  a  surprise  for  the 
dear  mother  whose  loyal  little  lover  he  was.  Well,  that  is  how 
Jamie  learned  to  print.  And  now  we  will  go  back  to  him  as  he 
stands  by  grandma's  side  watching  her  fold  up  his  round  kisses, 
and  slip  them,  with  his  printed  letter  and  her  reply  to  mama's 
letter,  in  the  large  envelope  which  would  carry  the  good  news 
safe  to  the  absent  mother. 

"  Will  my  dearest  mama  put  her  mouth  right  straight  on  top 
of  those  round  O's,  gran'ma?"  he  questioned,  anxiously;  "an' 
did  you  tell  her  I  did  so  to  her  round  O's  ? " 

"  Yes,  laddie,  I  told  her  that,  and  a  great  deal  more  about  the 


NEW   FRIENDS.  23 

dearest  little  boy  that  ever  came  to  see  a  grandma,"  she  replied, 
laughing  and  hugging  laddie  at  the  same  time. 

"Mama  said  she  didn't  'spect  to  be  gone  more'n  a  day  or 
two ;  but  she  ain't  come  back  yet,  an'  it's  more'n  a  day  or  two," 
he  continued,  somewhat  sadly. 

"  Yes,  darling ;  but  you  know  mama  didn't  expect  to  be  gone 
so  long  when  she  said  good-by  to  you.  She  hoped  to  be  back  in 
two  days;  but  you  know  her  first  letter  told  us  how  very  sick 
the  poor  lady  has  been,  and  mama  had  to  stay  a  little  longer. 
Aren't  you  willing,  laddie  dear ! " 

The  question  had  a  reproachful  tone  in  it,  and  Jamie's  face 
turned  a  trifle  red.  He  dug  the  toe  of  one  little  boot  into  the 
soft  rug  upon  which  he  stood,  and  fidgeted  restlessly  for  a  mo- 
ment ;  then  the  sun  in  his  dear  little  heart  shone  out  through  the 
cloud  on  his  brow,  and  he  nestled  close  to  grandma's  side,  pulled 
her  ear  down  to  his  lips,  and  whispered : 

"  Tell  mama  I'm  willin\  an'  I  ain't  frettin'  a  bit." 

"  I  will,  darling,"  was  the  reply.  "  And  now  you  run  out 
and  have  a  frolic  in  the  garden.  Better  put  your  little  coat  on, 
as  it  looks  like  rain." 

Presently  Jamie  was  ready  for  his  run  in  the  garden ;  and 
as  he  passed  the  dining-room,  where  the  waitress  was  setting 
things  in  order,  she  called  him. 

"  Jamie !  laddie  dear !  don't  you  want  this  ? "  and  she  held  up 
a  golden  orange. 

"  Guess  I  jus'  do ! "  answered  laddie,  with  a  run  for  the  fruit 
he  dearly  loved. 

"  It's  the  only  one  left  in  the  dish,"  said  the  girl,  "  and  I'm 
sure  grandma'll  be  willing  you  should  have  it." 


24  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

"  Guess  I  better  go  ask  her,"  said  Jamie.  (And  I  will  confide 
to  my  little  readers  right  here  that  there  was  a  deep  fear  in 
Jamie's  heart  lest  for  some  wise  reason  grandma  should  not  be 
willing  he  should  eat  the  orange.) 

So  back  he  went  to  grandma ;  and  when  he  next  started  for 
the  door-step  the  fruit  was  his,  to  have  and  to  hold,  to  eat  or 
give  away,  just  as  he  pleased. 

When  he  reached  the  door  he  was  surprised  to  see  a  boy  and 
girl  coming  up  the  walk.  He  had  never  seen  them  before,  and 
stood  bashfully  wondering  what  they  wanted. 

"  How  do  ? "  said  the  boy,  seeing  Jamie. 

"  Pretty  well,"  replied  Jamie,  shyly. 

"  I  got  a  message  for  your  granny ;  she  home?" 

"  Do  you  mean  my  gran'ma  ?     Do  you  know  her  ? " 

"Yes,  I  know  her,  an'  she  knows  me,  an'  my  sister  too; 
doesn't  she,  Susie?" — turning  to  the  little  girl,  who  looked 
bashfully  at  Jamie,  and  nodded  "  yes  "  to  her  brother's  question. 

"  I  don't  know  you,"  said  Jamie,  "  an'  you  don't  know  me." 

The  boy  laughed.  He  was  a  sturdy,  good-natured  little 
chap,  and  his  hair  and  eyes  were  brown  as  the  cap  he  wore. 
He  had  such  a  merry  twinkle  in  his  eyes  that  Jamie  didn't  feel 
in  the  least  afraid  of  him ;  and  as  for  the  little  girl,  she  wasn't 
any  older  than  himself,  and  she  smiled  at  him  so  confidingly 
that  he  couldn't  help  smiling  back  again. 

"  No,"  said  the  boy,  "  you  don't  know  us ;  but  I'm  goin'  to  in- 
terduce  us,  you  see.  I'm  Teddy  Jones,  an'  this  is  my  little  sister 
Susie,  an'  there's  two  more  of  us  home:  a  bigger  sister  'bout 
ten,  an'  a  little  chap  next  to  Susie  in  age — guess  you  'n'  he'd 
make  a  good  team.     An'  we're  the  blacksmith's  children ;  ain't 


NEW   FKIENDS.  25 

rich  folks  like  your  folks,  you  see,  an'  ain't  got  your  kind  o' 
clothes;  but  we  don't  care  for  that,  do  we,  Sue!" — turning  to 
his  sister,  who  was  looking  admiringly  at  Jamie  all  this  while. 

She  shook  her  head  for  "no,"  and  Teddy  went  on. 

"  An'  we  know  who  you  are,  'cause  wre  heard  your  granny 
was  havin'  her  daughter's  boy  to  visit  her.  We've  been  a- 
wantin'  to  see  you  for  ever  so  long,  but  couldn't  get  a  chance ; 
'n'  this  niornin'  when  dad  had  a  message  for  the  old  lady,  me 
an'  Susie  was  glad  to  come,  an'  we  hoped  we'd  see  you." 

Jamie  looked  quite  pleased,  and  had  a  little  feeling  of  im- 
portance as  he  stood  there  in  the  doorway  looking  down  upon 
his  admiring  acquaintances. 

Suddenly  he  realized  that  he  was  holding  the  big  golden 
orange  in  plain  view  all  that  time,  and  his  generous  little  heart 
prompted  him  to  give  it  to  the  girl  who  smiled  at  him  so 
prettily. 

So  he  held  it  out,  and  stepped  down  to  be  nearer  the  chil- 
dren, as  he  asked : 

"  Don't  you  want  this  orange,  little  girl ! " 

He  wanted  it  very  much  himself,  as  you  know,  but  Jamie 
was  an  unselfish  little  laddie,  and  he  offered  it  to  the  girl  as  sin- 
cerely and  with  as  much  pleasure  as  he  had  received  it  himself 
when  it  was  given  to  him. 

There  are  plenty  of  dear  little  boys  in  the  world  just  as  dear 
and  sweet  as  our  Jamie,  who  love,  just  as  he  did,  to  make  other 
people  happy,  and  those  are  the  little  lads  whom  everybody 
loves,  of  course ;  for  loving  wakes  love,  you  know,  among  both 
little  and  grown-up  people. 

Well,  when  he  offered  the  orange  to  small  Susie,  her  eyes 


26  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

sparkled  so  that  Jamie  knew  she  liked  oranges  as  well  as  he  did, 
and  how  glad  he  was  that  he  hadn't  held  his  hands  behind  him 
so  that  nobody  wonld  have  seen  the  orange  and  he  needn't  have 
given  it  away,  but  saved  it  to  eat  all  by  himself !  Teddy  was 
pleased  too,  because  his  little  sister  was  happy,  and  he  said  in 
his  heart  that  if  he  got  a  chance  to  "  serve  a  good  turn  on  the 
little  sailor-suit  boy  some  day,  he'd  do  it  sure,  or  his  name 
wasn't  Ted  Jones." 

Then  grandma  was  called  and  the  blacksmith's  message  was 
given  (about  one  of  the  horses  being  shod),  and  then  the  boy 
and  girl  were  invited  by  Jamie  to  take  a  turn  in  the  fine  swing. 

"  I've  got  the  beau'fullest  one  in  the  world !  "  he  exclaimed,  as 
they  ran  down  the  garden  path.  "  Gran'ma  'n'  Tom  made  it 
jus'  right  for  little  boys ;  but " — looking  at  Teddy's  stout  limbs 
critically — "  I  guess  you  ain't  too  big  for  it ! " 

"Well,  if  I  am,"  replied  Teddy,  cheerfully,  "I'll  be  a  good 
size  to  help  you  an'  Susie  have  some  fun  in  it,  anyhow,  'cause  I 
can  push  good  an'  strong,  an'  it's  most  as  much  fun  to  help 
other  folks  have  a  good  time  as  to  be  a-havin'  it  yourself,  you 
know." 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE    SWING   SCARE. 


Xow  Teddy  was  used  to  harum-scarum  pranks  on  his  own 
rickety  swing  Under  the  apple-tree  at  home,  and  so  he  proceeded 
to  astonish  Jamie  by  showing  off  all  he  could  do  in  this  very 
fine  affair  of  a  swing. 

Jamie  rather  envied  Teddy  for  being  able  to  do  so  much 
while  standing  up,  and  he  decided  to  show  his  visitors  how 
brave  lie  was  too,  if  only  a  little  boy  not  half  as  strong  and  big 
as  Teddy.  So  after  Susie  had  had  her  turn,  and  enjoyed  a 
gentle  little  swing,  assisted  by  the  gentlest  of  little  pushes,  to 
her  heart's  content,  Master  Jamie  boldly  mounted  the  board  seat 
and  slipped  his  feet  under  the  straps. 

"  Now  go  ahead  an'  push  real  hard,"  he  called  to  Teddy,  "  an' 
I'll  show  you  I  ain't  'fraid  a  bit !  " 

Whether  it  was  because  he  hadn't  put  his  little  feet  quite  far 
enough  through  the  straps,  or  because  Teddy  forgot  how  little 
a  chap  our  laddie  was,  I  can't  tell  you;  but  I  know  that  no 
sooner  had  the  swing  carried  Jamie  high  above  the  ground  than 
out  went  the  board  from  under  his  feet,  and  a  small  pair  of 
legs  were  struggling  in  the  air,  and  a  pair  of  little  hands  were 
clinging  tightly  to  the  ropes,  while  Teddy  sprang  forward  to 
save  our  frightened  laddie  from  the  threatened  fall. 

27 


28  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

"  Oh  dear ! "  remarked  Jamie,  when  safe  on  the  ground.  He 
winked  back  a  few  frightened  tears  and  swallowed  a  little  sob. 
"Oh  dear!  I — I  don't — I  guess  stand-ups  ain't  very  good  for 
little  boys  like — like  me.  Don't  let's  swing  any  more;  let's  go 
play  somethin'  else." 

Teddy  laughed. 

"  You  had  a  big  scare,  little  feller,  didn't  you  1  Never  mind ; 
you  ain't  half  killed  yet.  Next  time  you'll  hit  it  jus'  right. — 
Come,  Susie,  you  'n'  I  've  got  to  skip  home ;  an'  we're  much 
'bliged  to  Jamie — ain't  we  ? — for  lettin'  us  use  his  swing." 

"You  may  come  an'  use  it  whenever  you  want  to,"  said 
Jamie,  "  'cause  it  would  be  too  much  of  a  good  time  for  me  all 
by  myself,  an'  I — I  like  you  an'  Susie  first-rate." 

Teddy  held  out  his  hand. 

"  Shake,  then,  little  Master  Sailor-suit ;  an'  you  may  jus'  be 
sure  Susie  an'  her  brother  Ted  '11  always  think  a  heap  o'  you; 
for  if  you  are  a  rich  boy,  an'  dressed  better'n  I  ever  am  like  to 
be,  you  ain't  proud  'n'  stuck-up  one  bit;  an' — an'  it  makes  all 
the  difference  in  the  world  'bout  the  likin'  of  you,  you  know ! 
Well,  good-by !  "  And  off  he  went,  followed  by  little  fat  Susie 
as  fast  as  her  short  legs  would  carry  her. 

Jamie  pondered  a  moment,  then  he  hastened  into  the  sitting- 
room,  where  grandma  sat  at  her  sewing.  She  looked  up  with  a 
smile. 

"  Well,  laddie,  had  a  nice  time  ? "  she  questioned. 

But  Jamie's  face  was  a  serious  one  as  he  stood  beside  her 
passing  his  hand  over  her  cheek  in  a  loving  way,  and  yet  as 
though  he  were  hardly  conscious  of  what  he  did,  for  his  mind 
was  full  of  the  question  he  wanted  to  ask.     Presently : 


THE   SWING   SCAKE.  29 

"  Gran'ina,  what's — what's  bein'  '  stuck-up '  ? "  asked  he. 

"  Why,  laddie,  what  a  funny  question !  What  has  put  that 
into  your  noddle,  I  wonder ! " 

"That  boy  said  he  liked  me  'cause  I  wasn't  stuck-up;  an' 
what  is  it,  gran'ma?  How  do  little  boys  stick  up,  an'  what 
makes  'em,  if  it  isn't  nice?" 

How  grandma  did  laugh!  And  she  would  have  laughed 
longer  too,  if  Jamie's  face  hadn't  been  the  picture  of  anxiety 
and  dismay. 

"  Lif '  me  up  in  your  lap,  gran'ma,"  he  pleaded,  "  an'  kiss  me 
here,  where  my  dearest  mama  does" — pulling  his  jacket-collar 
down  from  under  his  chin  with  one  finger,  and  exposing  his  soft, 
sweet  little  throat,  where,  as  he  said  truly,  mama  daily  tucked 
in  a  whole  pile  of  loving  kisses. 

"  0  you  darling  laddie,"  answered  grandma,  "  I  could  al- 
most eat  you  up  with  kisses,  I  love  you  so ! "  And  then  she 
kissed  the  dear  little  throat  till  it  tickled  Jamie,  and  he  screamed 
with  laughter,  and  there  was  a  speedy  end  of  the  anxious  look 
on  his  face.  "  There  now ;  run  away  and  play  captain  on  that 
large  hall  rug,  and  let  me  finish  my  sewing,  so  that  a  boy  I  know 
of  can  have  a  nice  walk  to  the  village  with  me  by  and  by." 

"  But,  gran'rua,  you  forgetted  'bout  my  question ! "  said 
Jamie,  whose  memory  hadn't  proved  as  treacherous  as  grandma 
hoped  it  had  after  their  short  frolic.    "  What's  bein' '  stuck-up '  ? " 

"  Well,  I  declare !  "  cried  grandma ;  "  you're  a  great  boy  for 
sticking,  though  you  aren't  '  stuck-up.'  Well,  laddie,  Teddy 
meant  that  you  didn't  put  on  any  disagreeable  airs,  and  act  as 
if  you  felt  yourself  a  great  deal  better  than  he  and  Susie,  just 
because  you  wore  better  clothes  and  didn't  happen  to — to  be  a 


30  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

working-man's  son ;  he  meant  that  you  weren't  anything  else 
but  just  a  dear,  kind-hearted  little  boy,  doing  to  others  just  as 
you  would  like  others  to  do  to  you,  and  being  a  happy  boy 
because  you  were  making  others  happy  also.  If  you  had  turned 
up  your  small  nose  and  thought  yourself  too  smart  and  fine  to 
be  willing  to  play  with  those  who  were  not  able  to  look  as  well, 
why  then  you  would  have  been  a  very  '  stuck-up '  little  boy  in- 
deed, and  a  naughty  little  boy  in  the  bargain.  Now  do  you 
understand,  laddie  dear?" 

Jamie  nodded. 

"Oh  yes,  gran'ma,  an'  I  shouldn't  think  it  would  feel 
comfor'ble  here" — laying  his  hand  upon  his  breast — "to  be 
proud  like  that.  I'm  much  obliged  to  Teddy  for  thinkin'  I 
ain't  that  way.  He's  a  nice  boy,  isn't  he,  gran'ma?  An'  so  is 
Susie." 

"  Susie  is  a  dear,  nice  little  girl,"  said  grandma,  "  and  Teddy 
is  as  good  a  boy  as  any  one  need  want ;  and  so  long  as  a  boy  or 
girl,  or  man  or  woman,  is  honest  and  kind  and  true  to  all  things 
good,  the  dear  Father  in  heaven  will  love  them  all  alike, 
whether  they're  rich  or  poor,  glad  or  sad,  high  or  low.  Now 
one  more  kiss ;  and  you  needn't  look  as  solemn  as  an  owl  over 
my  little  sermon,  you  funny  boy,  but  run  and  have  a  good  play 
before  luncheon-time." 

So  presently  there  was  a  big  steamer  out  in  the  hall  (which 
was,  I  beg  Jamie's  pardon,  not  a  hall,  but  the  ocean  at  that 
time),  and  the  crew  consisted  of  a  very  small  and  timid  kitty- 
cat  and  the  little  mongrel  dog  which  belonged  to  Tom.  To 
keep  that  crew  in  order  and  prevent  mutiny  was  so  difficult  a 
task  that  a  great  deal  of  stern  commanding  and  shouting  was 


THE    SWING   SCAHE.  31 

necessary;  and  the  old  eloek  at  the  head  of  the  staircase  had  its 
seconds  and  minutes  so  scared  that  they  ran  by  as  fast  as  they 
could,  and  counted  off  the  hour  before  Jamie's  voyage  was 
half  done,  and  when  the  luncheon-bell  was  rung  he  was  greatly 
surprised. 

In  the  afternoon,  when  Jamie  expected  to  have  his  walk  with 
grandma,  it  unfortunately  happened  that  something  prevented 
his  grandmother  from  going ;  and  so  little  laddie  decided  to  go 
to  the  pond  and  have  a  nice  time  with  his  ship. 

"  It'll  be  a  good  time  to  have  another  wreck,"  thought  he ; 
and  the  unlucky  rubber  doll  was  carried  to  the  pond  again  to  do 
its  share  toward  the  coming  misfortune. 

If  that  rubber  boy-doll  had  only  been  able  to  foresee  just 
J/otr  it  would  have  a  share  in  a  kind  of  wreck  not  anticipated  by 
Jamie,  nor  included  in  his  program,  maybe  it  would  have  lost 
itself  in  the  old  attic  somewhere,  so  that  Jamie  would  not  have 
troubled  to  hunt  it  up.  But  there  it  was  in  the  little  boy's 
jacket-pocket,  as  black  and  rubbery  and  as  placid  and  smiling 
as  ever ;  and  when  the  pond  was  reached,  there  was  the  pretty 
little  ship  at  her  moorings,  awaiting  her  passenger,  and  all  un- 
conscious of  the  "  terrible  wreck  "  which  would  soon  occur  at  the 
end  of  Jamie's  long  string. 

That  part  of  the  pond  to  which  grandma  allowed  her  little 
grandson  to  go  alone  was  shallow  and  safe,  because,  if  he  had 
tried,  he  could  have  waded  across  with  a  wetting  only  up  to  his 
waist.  But  she  had  forbidden  him  to  lean  over  the  bank  at  all, 
save  in  the  one  sloping  little  "  cove,"  as  she  called  it,  where  he 
kept  his  boat  moored,  and  where  he  was  sure  to  have  firm 
footing. 


32  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

A  little  farther  up  the  pond,  and  where  Jamie  would  not 
have  thought  of  venturing,  nor  have  found  it  convenient  to  do 
so,  the  water  was  deeper,  and  would  have  reached  to  Jamie's 
throat,  had  he  tried  wading  there. 

But  that  especial  part  of  his  "  ocean  "  was  beyond  the  little 
lad's  knowledge,  and  so  he  had  never  ventured  outside  of  safe 
limits;  and  grandma  knew  she  could  trust  his  promise  not  to 
do  so. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE  WRECK  AND   THE  EESCUE. 


On  this  occasion,  as  always  before,  Jamie  shipped  cargoes  of 
wood,  chips,  and  moss ;  and  the  cargoes  were  landed  safely  at 
port,  or  "  lost  in  mid-ocean,"  as  he  pleased.  He  was  a  happy 
little  boy  to-day — particularly  happy;  because  with  the  noon 
mail  a  letter  had  come  to  grandma  from  his  own  mama,  saying 
that  she  expected  to  come  home  in  three  more  days,  and  would 
stay  over  at  the  old  homestead  a  day  or  so  before  she  and  Jamie 
would  return  to  New  York.  So  now  he  felt  perfectly  contented 
and  happy,  and  sang  little  gleeful  songs,  nursery  rhymes,  and 
"  make-ups  "  (as  he  called  his  own  cute  little  jingles),  and  sailed 
his  ship  to  and  fro,  and  rolled  about  on  the  grass,  and  had  a 
merry  time  all  by  himself  there  under  the  trees  and  beside  the 
quiet  waters.  At  last  he  decided  it  was  time  for  the  rubber 
passenger  to  meet  with  trouble,  and  preparations  were  begun 
accordingly. 

"  Good-by,  Mr.  Doll,"  said  the  ship's  owner.  "  I  hope  you'll 
have  a  nice  time ;  but  most  likely  you  won't,  'cause  this  is  a 
time  when  there's  danger  crossin'  the  ocean.  Maybe  you'll  wish 
you  hadn't  gone  on  a  journey.     Good-by." 

Then  dolly  took  his  usual  position  against  the  mast,  and  the 
little  ship  sailed  gracefully  out  from  port. 

33 


34  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

The  "  wreck  "  occurred  right  in  the  middle  of  the  pond ;  and 
after  a  violent  rocking  back  and  forth,  and  what  Jamie,  the 
wrecker,  considered  a  "  beau'ful  hard  time,"  over  went  the  ship, 
its  sails  in  the  water,  and  its  passenger  floating  off  helplessly. 
Jamie  danced  up  and  down  delightedly  on  the  bank,  and  waited 
for  the  current  to  bring  his  doll  to  shore.  The  ship  was  hauled 
in  as  usual,  and  placed  in  the  sun,  that  the  dripping  sails  might 
dry. 

But  the  unfortunate  passenger  didn't  seem  to  get  any  nearer 
to  our  "  captain  " ;  on  the  contrary,  it  was  floating  as  far  as  pos- 
sible in  the  opposite  direction ;  and  Jamie  was  much  troubled 
when  finally  it  swept  around  a  curve  in  the  bank  and  was  lost 
to  view. 

If  he  followed  the  doll  he  would  be  treading  upon  forbidden 
ground — he  knew  that  very  well;  but  if  he  did  not  follow  it  he 
would  lose  his  rubber  playmate,  and  that  was  something  dread- 
ful to  think  of. 

For  a  minute  or  two  laddie  stood  irresolute;  and  then  his 
anxiety  overcame  him  entirely,  and  he  allowed  himself  to  forget 
grandma's  injunctions,  feeling  that  the  necessity  of  the  case 
would  excuse  disobedience  this  time.  In  fact,  Jamie  was 
naughty  in  good  earnest,  and  I'm  not  sure  but  he  was  just  a 
little  glad  to  have  a  good  excuse  to  follow  Mr.  Doll ;  and  so  off 
he  started  on  a  quick  run  to  follow  a  path  which  led  through 
shrubbery  and  tangled  grasses  around  to  the  opposite  side  of 
the  water,  where  he  thought  dolly  might  have  floated. 

He  presently  found  himself  in  a  strange  place,  where  the 
water  looked  "shinier"  than  where  he  was  allowed  to  play,  and 
the  trees  seemed  to  be  growing  upside  down  under  the  banks. 


THE   WRECK   AND   THE   RESCUE.  30 

"I  don't  feel  eomfor'ble  here,"  lie  thought,  "an'  I  ain't  goin' 
to  stay  a  minute  after  I  find  my  doll.  I  got  to  find  him  some- 
how, an'  gran'ma'd  feel  real  sorry  if — if  I  let  him  jus'  stay  lost. 
I'm  'most  sure  she'd  like  me  to  find  him." 

His  reflections  comforted  him  very  little,  however,  for  Jamie 
knew  he  was  not  doing  right ;  and  what  with  that  and  his  worry 
over  the  lost  passenger,  the  little  fellow  was  really  quite  miser- 
able at  last,  and  was  just  going  to  turn  about  and  hurry  back  to 
more  familiar  ground,  when  he  saw  the  rubber  doll  bobbing  up 
and  down  not  far  away.  Jamie's  little  face  beamed  all  over,  and 
he  ran  to  the  edge  of  the  pond  with  a  stiek  in  his  eager  hand,  all 
ready  to  reach  for  the  treasure  and  haul  it  inshore.  Alas !  the 
little  feet  slipped  up  on  some  wet  moss,  and  over  went  Jamie 
plump  into  the  water,  screaming  with  terror.  He  couldn't  get 
upon  his  feet  again  (though,  as  you  know,  the  depth  was  not 
dangerous)  for  the  reason  that  his  little  legs  had  gotten  en- 
tangled in  some  vines  growing  in  the  water ;  and  he  was  held  in 
such  a  position  that  only  his  head  was  above  it.  He  was  terri- 
bly frightened,  and  cried  and  screamed  till  his  strength  was 
nearly  gone;  and  there  is  no  knowing  what  would  have  hap- 
pened at  last,  if  Teddy  Jones  had  not  chanced  to  make  a  short 
cut  through  the  woods  the  other  side  of  the  pond,  on  his  way  to 
do  an  errand.  He  heard  the  terrified  cries  of  poor  Jamie,  and 
sprang  like  a  deer  through  bushes  and  over  fallen  trees,  until  he 
reached  the  bank  and  saw  little  laddie  struggling  to  pull  himself 
out  of  the  water. 

It  didn't  take  Teddy  very  long  to  get  the  dripping  child  out 
of  his  uncomfortable  quarters  and  away  from  danger. 

"  How  under  the  sun,  moon,  an'  stars  came  you  in  there  ? " 


36  LITTLE  LAD  JAMIE. 

he  asked ;  and  Jamie  hung  his  head  in  shame.  "  Thought  your 
granny  told  you  not  to  come  to  this  part  the  pond,"  continued 
Teddy.     "  What  you  doin'  here,  anyhow  ? " 

"Findin'  my  rubber  doll,"  explained  Jamie;  "'cause  there 
was  a  big  storm  at  sea,  an'  a — a — awful  wreck,  an'  the  pass'nger 
was  drownin' ;  an'  I  saw  him  floatin'  an'  floatin'  way  over  here, 
an'  course  I  had  to  come  an'  save  him." 

Teddy  was  all  this  time  squeezing  the  water  as  well  as  he 
could  out  of  Jamie's  suit,  and  made  the  little  boy  stand  in  the 
warm  sun. 

"Lucky  you  didn't  have  on  your  nice  white  clothes,  isn't 
it  % "  he  said.  "  This  sort  o'  wool  suit'll  keep  you  from  gettin' 
chilled  an'  wet  all  through ;  an'  if  your  granny'll  give  you  a  hot 
drink  I  don't  reckon  you'll  take  any  cold,  sonny.  Now  come 
'long  home." 

Jamie  hesitated. 

"  I  haven't  got  my  doll,"  he  said,  pitifully. 

Teddy  pulled  off  his  shoes,  rolled  up  his  trousers  above  his 
knees,  waded  in  as  far  as  possible,  and  with  a  stick  rescued  the 
cause  of  all  Jamie's  trouble,  and  restored  it  to  its  uncomfortable 
little  master. 

Then  he  pulled  off  his  own  dry  coat  and  made  Jamie  put  it 
on ;  and  as  a  matter  of  course  it  very  nearly  covered  the  small 
boy's  body. 

"  There,  now,  you'll  do  till  you  get  home,"  said  Teddy ;  "  an* 
you  jus'  own  up  to  granny  all  you've  done — no  cheatin'." 

Jamie  looked  up  indignantly. 

"You  don't  s'pose  I'd  try  an'  'ceive  gran'ma,  do  you?"  he 
asked.     "  I  ain't  a  boy  like  that !     Guess  she  knows  I  ain't  ever 


THE   WRECK   AND   THE   RESCUE.  37 

told  any  wrong  stories  to  her  an'  my  dearest  mama  long  as 
they've  known  me ;  so  now,  Teddy  Jones !  " 

Teddy  gave  a  long  whistle. 

"  Whew !  sonny's  got  his  dander  up !  Oh,  come  now,  Jamie,  I 
was  only  teasin' ;  don't  I  know  you're  a  fair  and  square  little  chap  V 

Jamie  felt  ashamed  of  his  angry  little  speech,  and  told  Teddy 
so,  like  a  man. 

"  Ho !  what's  a  boy  without  spunk  'nough  to  stand  up  for 
himself  if  a  feller's  judgin'  him  wrong  ? "  was  Teddy's  reply.  "  It 
don't  hurt  you  any  to  blurt  out  now  'n'  then  if  you've  got  right 
on  your  side.  I'd  no  business  to  think,  even  in  fun,  that  you'd 
do  so  mean  a  thing  as  try  to  cheat  your  granny." 

Jamie's  face  was  sober  as  he  listened,  and  presently  he  asked : 

"Do  you  ever  be  real  naughty  'cause  it's  fun,  Teddy?  J  do 
sometimes,  when  our  cook  plagues  me;  an' — an'  I  try  to  think 
up  things  to  be  bad  'bout  to  tease  her,  an'  I  can't  help  it,  'cause 
she  scolds  so  it  tempers  me  all  over,  from  my  head  to  my  feet. 
Mama  says  I  am  very  naughty  those  times;  but  it's  real  fun 
when  I'm  doin'  it,  an'  it  doesn't  seem  as  if  I'd  ever  be  sorry; 
an' — an' — then — an'  then  pretty  soon  the  sorry  time  comes,  an' 
I  ain't  happy  any  more,  an'  I  don't  like  myself  at  all ;  so  I  go  an' 
say,  "Scuse  me,  Ann;  I'm  sorry  for  teasin'  you;'  an'  I  get  up  in 
my  dearest  mama's  lap,  an'  I  whisper  a  few  little  things  in  her 
ear,  an'  then  she  kisses  me,  an' — 0  Teddy,  you  don't  know  what 
a  difference  I  feel  here ! " — laying  his  little  hand  on  his  heart, 
and  lifting  his  shining  blue  eyes  to  Teddy's  face. 

Teddy  put  his  arm  around  his  little  companion's  neck  and 
gave  him  a  sympathetic  squeeze  as  he  replied : 

"Guess  /  know  how  good  it  feels,  too;  but  somehow  it 


38  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

doesn't  keep  me  from  forgettin'  again ;  an'  I  s'pose  I'm  a  reg'lar 
nuisance  of  a  boy,  take  me  all  'round,  for  now  'n'  then  dad  gives 
me  an  out-'n'-out  trouncin' ;  an'  it  does  me — an'  him  too — a  heap 
o'  good,  so  I  ain't  complainin'." 

Jamie  felt  very  badly  at  the  idea  of  Teddy's  ever  being 
whipped,  so  he  tried  to  comfort  his  friend  by  repeating  the 
compliment  grandma  had  paid  him  awhile  before. 

"Well,  you  ain't  very  bad,  Teddy,  'cause  my  gran'ma  said 
you  were  as  nice  a  boy  as  anybody  need  want ;  an'  she  likes  you 
a  great  deal — honest,  she  does  !  " 

Teddy  laughed,  and  enjoyed  the  compliment  hugely. 

"  Oh  well,"  he  said,  "  all  I  want  is  to  grow  up  a  man  like  my 
dad.  Everybody  likes  him,  an'  he's  clean  an'  honest  clear 
through ;  an'  we  children  wouldn't  darst  to  tell  a  lie,  or  steal,  or 
do  a  mean,  deceitful  thing,  even  if  we  wanted  to.  But  we  never 
would  want  to ;  for  'tisn't  bein'  rich  an'  wearin'  good  clothes  that 
makes  a  man  anythin'  great  (so  dad  says,  an'  mammy  too),  half 
so  much  as  bein'  true  an'  honest  an'  kind  in  your  heart.  You'll 
be  a  good  man,  Jamie,  I'm  sure  o'  that !  " — looking  kindly  down 
on  the  grave  little  face  beside  him. 

"  If  I  love  the  dear  Jesus,  I  will,"  replied  Jamie ;  "  for  papa 
did,  an'  he  was  a  good  man — mama  says  so;  an'  mama  does,  an' 
she's  the  bestest  lady  in  the  world.  0  Teddy" — Jamie  bright- 
ened up  into  a  host  of  dimples  as  he  spoke — "  my  dearest  mama 
is  comin'  home  so  soon — jus'  in  a  day  or  two — an'  I'm  goin'  to 
show  her  to  you.  Won't  you  be  glad  to  see  my  pretty  mama, 
Teddy  ?     I  'most  feel  sure  she'll  say  you're  a  nice  boy." 

Teddy  felt  disappointed  that  he  would  so  soon  lose  his  dear 
little  playfellow,  and  yet  he  did  not  cloud  Jamie's  pleasure  by 


THE  WRECK   AND   THE   RESCUE.  39 

telling  him  so — no  indeed;  be  entered  into  Jamie's  joyous 
anticipations  with  all  his  kind  heart,  and  when  the  homestead 
gate  was  reached  the  little  boy  had  almost  forgotten  that  he  bad 
a  sorrowful  confession  to  make  to  grandma.  Perhaps  he  would 
quite  have  forgotten  it,  in  the  joy  of  thinking  about  his  mother, 
if  it  had  not  been  for  the  damp,  uncomfortable  feeling  of  the 
little  suit  under  Teddy's  big  jacket.  But  although  he  was 
dreadfully  afraid  of  the  punishment  he  deserved,  yet  he  had  no 
idea  of  shrinking  from  duty ;  and  so,  after  Teddy  had  gone  up 
the  road,  our  little  laddie  presented  his  forlorn,  funny  little 
figure  (in  the  coat  three  or  four  sizes  too  large  for  him,  and  his 
hands  quite  lost  to  view  in  the  sleeves)  before  grandma's 
astonished  gaze. 

"  Why,  what  in  the  world —  "  began  grandma,  looking  at  him 
over  her  spectacles;  and  then  before  she  could  finish  her  sen- 
tence, Jamie  ran  and  shut  the  door  tight,  so  that  nobody's  ears 
save  grandma's  could  possibly  hear  his  confession. 

And  therefore  I  cannot  tell  you  about  what  happened  in  that 
room ;  but  I  know  that  in  half  an  hour  the  dear  old  lady  and  her 
little  laddie  came  out  into  the  hall  hand  in  hand,  and,  at  Jamie's 
especial  request,  carried  the  rubber  dolly  up  the  garret  stairs, 
and  shut  it  up  in  the  very  bottom  of  the  deepest  trunk  to  be 
found,  and  then  grandma  locked  the  trunk  and  took  out  the 
key,  and  all  further  temptation  to  rescue  a  drowning  pas- 
senger at  the  cost  of  disobedience  and  danger  was  at  once  re- 
moved. Not  that  Jamie  would  have  disobeyed  again,  but  he  felt 
in  his  repentant  heart  as  though  he  and  that  "  passenger  "  would 
never  be  quite  the  same  friends  again,  or  at  least  not  until  the 
next  visit  with  grandma. 


CHAPTEK  VIII. 


THE   BONFIRE. 


The  next  morning  Jamie  heard  that  little  Susie  had  taken  a 
cold  and  was  sick.  Teddy  had  passed  the  gate  early,  and,  see- 
ing Tom,  had  mentioned  the  fact,  and  also  asked  how  Jamie 
was  after  his  wetting  of  the  day  before. 

Grandma  felt  sorry  for  Susie,  and  asked  Jamie  if  he  didn't 
want  to  take  Ted's  jacket  back  himself,  instead  of  its  being  sent 
by  Tom,  as  she  had  intended,  and  then  he  could  ask  how  Susie 
was  getting  on. 

He  jumped  at  the  idea;  and  as  the  blacksmith's  cottage 
was  just  in  plain  view  across  the  fields,  there  was  no  danger  to 
Jamie  in  the  going. 

"  I  want  to  take  my  story-book  with  the  big  picksures  in  it 
to  little  Susie,"  he  said,  "  'cause  she'll  be  'mused  with  it,  an'  then 
Teddy'll  be  glad." 

"  Right,  darling,"  was  grandma's  ready  answer ;  "  and  here  is 
the  book  all  waiting  for  its  kind  service  to  the  sick  girlie.  You 
can  trot  right  along  this  minute." 

She  tucked  his  feet  into  his  high  rubber  boots — because  the 
field  was  rather  soft  and  marshy  in  places — and  slipped  his 
heavier  jacket  on ;  and  after  crowning  the  fair  head  with  its 

40 


THE   BONFIKE.  41 

Scotch  cap,  she  tilted  up  the  dimpled  chin,  placed  a  kiss  on  it, 
and  one  also  on  the  rosy  mouth  and  blue  eyes,  and  theu 
watched  the  sturdy  little  figure  prancing-  away  over  the  field, 
with  Teddy's  coat  over  one  arm,  and  the  gift-book  for  Susie 
under  the  other. 

Before  he  quite  reached  the  cottage  Jamie  noticed  a  white 
smoke  soaring  up  from  above  some  bushes  at  the  other  end  of 
the  field,  and  there  came  a  sound  of  childish  voices  from  the 
same  direction.  Curiosity  led  him  to  go  a  little  way  and  see 
what  it  was  all  about;  and  he  soon  saw  a  little  fellow,  not 
much  taller  than  himself,  and  a  girl  who  was  nearly  as  tall  as 
Teddy. 

They  had  piled  a  lot  of  chips  together,  and  were  having  a 
small  bonfire. 

The  boy  looked  up  as  Jamie  approached. 

"Hello!  you're  the  boy  our  Teddy  likes,  ain't  you?"  he 
asked,  while  the  girl  drew  back  a  little  shyly. 

"  Yes,  I'm  Jamie ;  an'  I  like  Teddy  too.  May  I  watch  you  fix 
your  fire  I " 

"  Ain't  anythin'  to  hender,"  replied  the  boy,  whose  name  was 
Jackie.  "  That  Ted's  coat  you  got  ?  He  telled  us  'bout  you 
tumblin'  in  the  water.  7've  been  in  lots  o'  times,  an'  didn't 
scare  a  mite,  an'  I  ain't  any  bigger'n  you !  " 

Jamie  felt  quite  humiliated  at  the  idea  of  a  boy  no  larger 
than  he  being  so  bold  and  brave  as  not  to  be  afraid  of  falling 
into  a  pond,  while  he  himself  was  so  cowardly  that  he  had 
yelled  at  the  top  of  his  voice.  So  he  didn't  want  to  talk  about 
that  subject  any  longer,  and  turned  it  aside  by  saying: 

"  I've  got  a  book  for  little  Susie  'cause  she's  sick."    He  laid 


42  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

the  coat  on  the  ground,  and  handed  the  book  to  the  girl  (whose 
name  was  Sallie)  to  look  at. 

She  turned  the  leaves  with  a  pleased  look  on  her  face,  and 
found  her  tongue  at  last. 

"  Guess  Susie'll  like  it,"  she  said.  And  Jackie,  who  was  fan- 
ning the  bonfire  into  a  brisk  blaze,  added  his  opinion  that 
"  Susie'd  be  much  'bliged." 

"  It's  a  beau'ful  book !  "  said  laddie.  "  I'm  'most  sure  she'll 
like  it  much  as  I  did.     Can  I  give  it  to  her  my  very  own  self ! " 

"Reckon  so,"  said  Sallie;  "she's  a-lyin'  on  the  bed  frettin' 
'cause  she  can't  come  an'  see  the  fire." 

"What  you  makin'  it  for?"  asked  Jamie. 

"Jus'  riothin'  but  fun,"  replied  Jack,  swinging  his  cap  vigor- 
ously over  the  blaze,  and  sending  the  smoke  high  and  higher 
until  his  brown,  closely  cropped  head  was  almost  hidden  behind 
the  wall  of  smoke.  "It's  real  fun,"  he  continued.  "You  jus* 
pile  on  the  chips — there's  a  lot  in  the  basket — an'  then  you  fan 
this  way,  'n'  bimeby,  when  it  gets  good  an'  big,  you  make 
b'lieve  there's  a  house  afire;  an'  we're  goin'  to  put  the  basket — 
it's  only  a  leaky  old  thing  mammy  doesn't  want — right  on  top 
of  the  sticks,  an'  cracky !  won't  it  blaze  !  " 

Jackie  chuckled  with  the  anticipation,  and  Jamie  felt  as 
though  he  would  like  no  better  fun  than  to  help  throw  on  those 
chips  himself.  But  he  remembered  how  many  times  his  mother 
had  warned  him  not  to  play  with  fire,  and  had  told  him  how 
dangerous  it  was  for  little  boys  to  try  and  build  bonfires,  even 
though  big  boys  were  foolish  enough  to  risk  the  danger.  He 
wished  in  his  heart  that  mama  had  never  forbidden  it,  because 
he  did  want  to  help  with  this  especial  fire  so  much,  and  Jackie 


THE   BONFIRE.  43 

was  having  such  a  splendid  time  over  it !  There  were  the  chips 
all  ready  to  be  picked  up  and  flung  in  upon  the  blaze  Jack  had 
started  so  finely;  there  was  the  big  basket  which  would  make 
such  a  beautiful  "house  afire";  and  there  were  Jack  and  Sally 
enjoying  the  play  so  much !  Jamie  looked  wistfully  at  them 
and  at  the  chips,  and  fairly  longed  to  "  pitch  right  in,"  as  Jack 
urged  him  so,  and  "  have  fun  too." 

But,  you  see,  beside  all  the  things  which  were  so  tempting  to 
laddie  there  were  mama's  words,  as  plain  as  could  be :  "I  hope 
you  will  remember,  laddie  dear,  never  to  play  with  fire ;  because 
it  is  a  very  naughty,  dangerous  thing  for  little  boys  to  do.  Will 
you  remember  that  it  will  grieve  mama  very  much  if  you  dis- 
obey her  ? " 

And  Jamie  had  promised  to  "  remember " ;  and  he  did  so 
now,  this  very  moment,  though  it  made  him  a  wee  bit  sorry ;  for 
if  there  is  one  thing  above  another  that  little  boys  like  to  do,  it 
is  to  make  a  bonfire  whenever  they  have  a  chance. 

Well,  mama's  words  gained  the  victory  over  the  great  temp- 
tation of  the  chips  and  the  blaze,  and  Jamie  said  presently : 

"  It  looks  like  real  fun,  but — but  it  isn't  nice  for  little  boys 
to  do,  is  it?" 

Jackie  looked  up  scornfully,  and  then  went  on  fanning. 

"  Is  it,  Jack ! "  repeated  Jamie. 

"  No,  'tain't  nice  for  boys  what's  afeard  of  gettin'  hurt ! "  was 
the  snappy  reply.     "  Sallie  an'  I  ain't  that  kind,  though." 

"  /ain't  that  kind,  either,  in  my  feelin's,"  said  Jamie,  his  quick 
little  temper  coming  to  the  surface,  because  he  felt  that  Jack 
was  making  fun  of  him.  "  But  my  dearest  mama  said  it  would 
grieve  her  if  I  ever  did,  an'  I  guess  I  ain't  goin'  to  grieve  her 


44  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

for  all  the  old  fires  in  the  world ;  so  now !  " — straightening  his 
small  figure,  and  walking  off  as  fast  as  he  could. 

The  book  was  left  in  Sallie's  hands,  for  Jamie  was  too  indig- 
nant at  the  moment  to  think  of  it. 

However,  Sallie  shouted  after  him  that  she  would  give  it  to 
Susie ;  and  then  she  scolded  Jack  for  being  rude  to  the  little  boy 
Teddy  was  so  fond  of. 

"  If  Teddy  finds  it  out,  you'll  ketch  it !  "  she  said,  by  way  of  a 
last  comforting  word ;  and  she  left  her  brother  to  enjoy  the  fire 
all  by  himself,  while  she  carried  Jamie's  gift  to  the  cottage. 

Somehow  little  Jackie  Jones  failed  to  enjoy  his  bonfire  much 
after  that,  and  so  he  stamped  it  out  ere  long,  and  followed  Jamie 
home ;  and  there  was  a  private  meetiDg  of  two  little  figures 
out  at  grandma's  back  gate,  and  then  a  good  romp  in  the 
swing  under  the  arbor  trellis.  The  simple  fact  was  that  Jack 
in  his  heart  felt  a  greater  liking  and  respect  for  Jamie,  just 
because  the  latter  had  been  brave  enough  to  stand  up  for  his 
mother's  request  even  at  the  risk  of  being  considered  "a 
coward,"  than  would  have  been  possible  if  our  little  lad  had 
yielded  to  temptation  and  put  mother  and  her  wishes  quite  out 
of  his  way. 

And  Jamie,  who  hated  to  feel  that  anybody  was  angry  with 
him,  was  only  too  glad  to  "  be  frien's  "  with  Jack  the  very  mo- 
ment chance  gave  him  opportunity. 

"Did  Susie  like  the  book?"  he  presently  asked  Jack. 

"  I  didn't  take  time  to  go  an'  see,"  said  Jack,  "  I  was  in  sech 
a  hurry  to  ketch  up  to  you.  I  say,  Jamie,  Sallie  said  Teddy'd 
give  it  to  me  good  if  he  knew  I'd  made  fun  o'  you ;  but  I  guess 
he  won't  now  you  'n'  me's  frien's  agin ;  an'  if  he  does,  I  won't 


THE   BONFIRE.  4.") 

mind  it  much,  'cause  I  was  mean  to  you — an'  you  were  awful 
good  to  give  your  nice  book  to  our  Susie." 

Jamie  was  pleased  with  the  kind  words,  but  they  made  him 
feel  embarrassed  too,  and  he  didn't  know  what  to  say.  But  the 
happy  thought  came  that  it  would  be  fun  to  play  ship  with  the 
large  hall  rug,  and  the*polished  oak  floor  would  be  the  ocean  as 
usual,  and  Jackie  would  make  a  splendid  big  whale,  which  the 
captain  of  the  ship  would  catch  and  haul  on  board. 

So  he  proposed  it  to  Jack,  who  was  delighted  to  be  a  whale 
or  anything  else  that  would  give  him  a  chance  to  play  in  the 
large,  wide  hall,  where  he  had  never  dared  to  dream  of  entering 
before,  though  he  knew  it  was  hung  with  pictures,  and  had  a 
great  wide  staircase  in  it  with  carved  railings,  and  a  statue 
holding  a  colored  lamp  in  its  hand. 

Presently  grandma  heard  a  terrific  racket  as  she  sat  sewing 
in  the  room  above ;  and  looking  over  the  balusters,  what  should 
she  see  but  Jackie  sprawling  on  the  floor,  striking  out  with 
arms  and  legs  as  though  in  deep  water,  holding  between  his 
teeth  the  end  of  a  long  cord,  while  the  other  was  in  laddie's 
hand,  and  the  make-believe  ship  having  a  hard  time  sliding 
over  the  floor-ocean  with  every  pull  of  the  big  whale  Captain 
Jamie  was  endeavoring  to  haul  on  board. 

Grandma  laughed  so  she  nearly  lost  her  balance  as  she 
watched  the  comical  scene. 

"  Well,  well,  well,  I  wonder  what  that  boy  of  mine  will  think 
of  next !  "  she  thought.     "  Bless  his  dear  heart !  " 

But  I'm  quite  sure  she  wasn't  sorry  when"  the  noisy  play 
was  done,  and  the  famous  whale — "  the  very  biggest  ever 
caught  in  that  ocean,"  Jamie   said — had  turned   into    a  boy 


46  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

again,  and  remembered  that  "his  folks  would  be  wonderin' 
where  he  was." 

When  the  little  boys  separated  soon  after,  Jackie  took  the 
short  cut  over  the  fields,  and  Jamie's  parting  words  were  shouted 
out  after  him : 

"Good-by,  Jackie!  I  like  you  better  'n'  better,  an'  you 
made  the  bestest  whale  I  ever  saw ! " 


CHAPTER  IX. 


WAITING   FOE   MAMA. 


And  now  we  come  to  the  close  of  our  story  of  little  lad 
Jamie.  It  was  the  evening  before  "  his  dearest  mania  "  was  to 
arrive.  Right  after  breakfast  on  the  next  morning  he  was  to 
drive  with  grandma  to  the  railroad  station  to  meet  her.  All 
day  long  he  had  been  restlessly  happy,  trying  to  be  patient 
and  good  as  a  little  boy  could  be ;  but  he  did  long  for  bedtime 
to  come,  so  as  to  "hurry  up  the  morning."  A  dozen  times 
he  had  climbed  upon  grandma's  lap,  and  kissed  her,  and 
caressed  her  with  his  little  restless  hands,  as  though  his  heart 
was  so  overflowing  with  love  and  happiness  that  it  couldn't  be 
shut  up  inside  the  small  body.  He  had  tried  to  enjoy  the  sail- 
ing of  his  ship,  first  on  the  pond  and  then  (to  be  nearer  home, 
so  that  he  could  be  told  the  time  every  few  minutes  by  the  kind 
old  Tom)  in  the  big  tub  of  water  near  the  stable  door.  But  the 
ship  failed  to  amuse  him  as  much  as  usual,  and  he  had  gone  to 
the  swing.  A  few  turns  of  that  satisfied  him,  and  then  he  had 
to  run  back  to  Tom  and  ask  again  what  time  it  was. 

He  had  a  number  of  toys  in  the  sitting-room,  and  for  a  while 


48  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

he  was  an  expressman,  a  locomotive  engineer,  a  stableman,  a 
soldier  and  drummer,  and  all  sorts  of  things  besides.  But 
finally  the  desire  to  know  the  time  again  took  possession  of 
our  laddie,  and  of  course  the  toys  were  forgotten. 

So  the  day  had  passed ;  and  finally,  when  the  longed-for  bed- 
time arrived,  never  was  there  a  more  willing  "  go-to-bed  boy  "  in 
the  world. 

When  the  soft  white  night-dress  was  on,  and  the  little 
prayer  said  at  grandma's  knee,  he  lifted  his  blue  eyes  happily 
to  the  kind  face  above  him,  and  said : 

"Isn't  it  good  to  feel  that  the  dear,  great  God  was  once  a 
little  boy  like  me,  gran'ma?  Let  me  tell  you  somethin':  once  I 
didnH  know  that,  an'  I  told  mama  that  maybe  God  didn't  have 
time  to  pay  'tention  to  little  boys,  'cause  there  were  so  many  big 
folks  that  needed  Him ;  an'  my  mama  she  told  me  all  'bout  it ; 
an'  ever  since  I've  been  sure  that  He  used  to  be  a  little  boy  I've 
felt  that  He'll  'scuse  me  for  ever  bein'  naughty;  an' — I  want  to 
whisper  somethin'  in  your  ear,  gran'ma" — drawing  her  head 
down  to  his  lips — "  I  guess  He  used  to  love  His  mama  so  dearly, 
that  He  is  glad  I  love  mine,  an'  He'll  take  good  care  of  her  while 
she's  comin'  back  to  me,  won't  He  f  " 

Grandma  nodded,  and  wiped  a  tear  from  her  eyes,  and  as- 
sured Jamie  that  there  never  was  a  moment  of  either  day  or 
night  when  Jesus  was  not  keeping  watch  and  ward  over  the 
earth  and  all  its  people ;  and  that  every  little  child  was  called  a 
Jamb  of  the  kind  Shepherd's  flock,  and  especially  loved  and 
watched  over  by  Him.  Then,  while  she  snuggled  him  close  in 
her  lap  (as  they  sat  there  in  the  quiet  shadows — the  two  who 
loved  each  other  so),  grandma  told  her  little  lad  several  of  the 


WAITING   FOE   MAMA.  4(J 

beautiful  stories  about  children  which  arc  found  in  the  "Book 
which  is  best  of  all  books";  and  he  listened  with  all  his  heart  in 
his  beautiful  eyes,  and  the  pretty  new  moon  began  to  shine,  and 

sent  a  tVw  beams  in  at  the  window  to  make  a  lovely  picture  of 
Jamie  and  grandma  at  the  happy  bedtime  hour. 

After  the  talk  was  finished,  Jamie  was  snuggled  into  bed; 
and  at  his  especial  request  the  favorite  toys  he  was  to  leave  be- 
hind him — all  handy  for  the  next  visit  to  the  homestead — were 
brought  up  from  the  sitting-room  and  placed  on  the  bed  to  sleep 
with  him  through  the  night,  "'cause  he  felt  so  happy,"  he  ex- 
plained, when  grandma  couldn't  help  laughing  at  his  funny 
desire,  and  at  the  sight  of  the  toys  arranged  in  such  solemn 
order  along  the  counterpane,  while  the  little  lord  and  master 
of  them  all  lay  back  contentedly  on  his  pillow,  all  ready  to 
slip  away  to  the  land  of  happy  dreams  just  as  soon  as  he 
should  close  his  eyes. 

"  Good-night,  my  darling !  "  said  grandma,  presently,  kissing 
Jamie  a  great  many  times,  and  wondering  silently  what  she 
should  do  after  he  had  gone  back  to  the  city  with  his  mama; 
and  the  old  homestead  would  be  too  quiet  a  place  to  suit  her, 
she  was  sure. 

"  Good-night,  gran'ma  dearest !  "  replied  Jamie.  "  Have  I 
been  a  pretty  good  boy  to-day?" 

"The  best  in  the  world,  laddie,  little  sweetheart;  and  I'm 
going  to  tell  mama  to-morrow  what  a  comfort  you  have  been  all 
the  time  since  you  came.  Now  one  more  kiss,  and  you'll  be 
sound  asleep  in  a  jiffy  after  I  go  down." 

"  Gran'ma ! " 

"Yes,  deary." 


50  LITTLE   LAD   JAMIE. 

"  Will  you  please  tell  me  what  time  it  is  ? " 

Grandma  laughed. 

"  The  same  old  question,  laddie,  isn't  it  ?  Well,  it  is — half- 
past  sleepy-time — that  means  half -past  seven  o'clock;  and  the 
morning  won't  come  until  you  are  sound  asleep,  you  know,  so 
snuggle  down  and  hurry  off  to  the  land  o'  nod." 

"  All  right,  gran'ma,"  said  the  drowsy  little  voice ;  and  pres- 
ently she  started  down  the  stairs. 

She  had  only  gotten  a  few  steps  down  before  again  she  heard 
the  sweet  sound  of  "  Gran'ma !     Gr-a-n'ma !  " 

"  Well,  Jamie,  boy,  what  is  it  now  ? " — putting  her  head  in  at 
the  door. 

"  Jus'  somethin'  I  wanted  to  tell  you  'fore  I  f orgetted  it,"  re- 
plied Jamie,  lifting  his  golden  head  from  the  pillow  and  looking 
earnestly  at  her  with  his  serious  eyes.  "I  jus'  wanted  to  say 
you've  been  such  a  dear,  kind  gran'ma  to  me;  an'  I  love  you, 
gran'ma,  a  great  deal.  I  thought  maybe  you'd  like  to  know  it 
over  again.  That's  all,  gran'ma  dear.  Good-night.  I  guess, 
mornin'  '11  soon  be  here,  'cause  I'm  so  sleepy." 

And  then — after  grandma  had  gone  straight  up  to  the  little 
bed,  and  kissed  him  many  times  more  in  return  for  his  sweet,, 
loving  speech — little  laddie  settled  his  soft  round  cheek  upon 
the  pillow,  and  was  fast  asleep  before  he  knew  that  he  had  even 
closed  his  eyes. 

So  we  leave  him  dreaming  of  the  "  to-morrow "  and  the  re- 
turn of  the  "  dearest  mama " ;  and  the  little  tin  soldiers  on  the 
bed,  and  the  soft  white  moonshine  about  the  room,  will  keep 
faithful  watch  over  our  little  lad  Jamie. 


